Zhang Daniu was already furious, and seeing Zhang Mei humiliate him like this only fueled his anger, causing him to vent all his frustration on her.
He kicked Zhang Mei, sending her sprawling to the ground. Not satisfied, he grabbed her hair and began punching and kicking her, cursing as he did so.
"You ungrateful wretch, you barren hen! You don't need to wait for that widower to beat you to death, I'll beat you to death right now!"
The villagers nearby quickly helped to stop them.
Lin Fengnian already looked distressed, but as a man, he couldn't say anything for fear of ruining Mei Zi's reputation.
Seeing that the eldest brother of the Zhang family had started hitting people, Lin Fengnian could no longer hold back and rushed over.
Lin Fengshou was a slippery fellow. While trying to stop Zhang Daniu, he kicked Zhang Daniu in the process. Lin Fengnian saw this and quickly kicked Zhang Daniu back.
Some people who usually disliked Zhang Daniu started to take advantage of the situation and intentionally or unintentionally punched or kicked him.
In an instant, Zhang Mei missed, but Zhang Daniu took several kicks.
"Get out of the way, all of you get out of the way! Ouch! Who kicked me? Damn it, ouch..."
"Alright, stop!"
Song Anxin intervened and stopped the chaos.
Song Anxin was a little surprised when she saw Zhang Mei come out. Zhang Mei was probably only 18 years old, the age when she should be in the prime of her life, but she didn't look like a young girl at all.
Her hair was dry and yellow, her body was as thin as firewood, and her face looked like that of a dying old woman, devoid of any vitality. It was unknown what kind of torment she had suffered in the Zhang family.
But what surprised her even more was that Zhang Mei said she wanted to live!
Her parents passed away when she was young, and she was raised by her maternal grandparents. Although she lost her parents, her maternal grandparents loved her very much, and she grew up peacefully.
However, the successive deaths of her maternal grandparents after she graduated from university devastated her. They were her last remaining relatives, and she was in a daze all day long.
She felt that life was meaningless, and it was her best friend who helped her get through it.
Zhang Mei, an abandoned woman known throughout the surrounding villages for being unable to have children, was often cursed behind her back. Her parents were indifferent to her, and her brother and sister-in-law were so snobbish and heartless. Yet, she actually wanted to live!
Song Anxin made her decision in her heart right then and there.
"Zhang Daniu, you're saying you can take Zhang Mei away for just three taels of silver, right?"
Zhang Daniu spat and said, "If you can give it to me, take it with you now. If you can't, get the hell out of here. Damn it, what bad luck."
Song Anxin didn't argue with him and said, "I don't have that much money right now, but I can give you one tael of silver as a deposit. I'll take Zhang Mei with me first, and I'll send you the remaining two taels of silver in three days."
Sister-in-law Lin walked up to Song Anxin and said in a low voice, "Second son's wife, are you crazy? Where would we get three taels of silver to give him?"
Song Anxin patted Sister-in-law Lin's hand and said, "I have my own way."
Seeing that she seemed to have a plan, Sister-in-law Lin moved her mouth but ultimately said nothing. Perhaps the second son's wife really did have her own way.
Lin Fengnian was deeply moved. His mother was actually willing to spend three taels of silver to help him get a wife. He had actually thought his mother was bad before. He was such a scoundrel.
Lin Fengshou, however, was a bit more concerned. Where would his family get three taels of silver? Could his mother be swindling him? Then he thought it was no big deal. He could just work more in town, and eventually pay it back. It wasn't really swindling.
“No, the three taels of silver must be paid in cash. You can’t afford it, but Luo the Widower can. He said he’ll be coming to give me the betrothal gifts in the next couple of days.” Zhang Daniu rubbed his leg, which had been kicked, and grimaced as he spoke.
"Oh no! Oh no! Meizi... Meizi... seems to have stopped breathing..." a woman closest to Zhang Mei suddenly cried out.
The villagers who had been watching rushed over to check, and Song Anxin also went forward. They saw Zhang Mei lying in the woman's arms, her face bruised and swollen, her whole face pale, making the bruises look even more frightening.
Most importantly, her eyes were tightly closed, and she looked like she was dead, with no sign of breathing.
Fortunately, her chest was still rising and falling slightly, indicating that she was still alive. Perhaps she was too weak, and the excessive grief, coupled with Zhang Daniu's punches and kicks, caused her to faint. Song Anxin unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Fengnian was on the periphery of the crowd and couldn't see the specific situation, but when he heard someone say that, he was extremely anxious and worried.
Seeing her eldest son's anxious expression, Song Anxin gave him a reassuring look.
Lin Fengnian didn't know why, but seeing his mother's appearance, he gradually calmed down.
Zhang's eldest brother was also startled and quickly kicked Zhang Mei on the ground, saying, "You brat, don't pretend to be dead. If you're going to die, wait until I get three taels of silver and go to Luo the widower's house to die."
Upon hearing this, the villagers of Dawu Village felt that Zhang's eldest brother was not only heartless but also vicious, actually telling his sister to die in someone else's house. They immediately felt disgusted and unlucky to live in the same village as such a person.
Zhang Daniu panicked when he saw his sister lying motionless. Could she really be dead? What would happen to his three taels of silver?
Zhang Daniu's wife, Zhao, seemed to be thinking the same thing as her husband, so she whispered something in Zhang Daniu's ear.
Song Anxin realized that the most opinionated person in this family was probably Zhao Shi. Marrying Zhang Mei to a widower might have been her idea, and Zhang Daniu just did it because he thought it would benefit him.
"Cough cough," Zhang Daniu coughed awkwardly and turned to Song Anxin, saying, "You just said you'd give me one tael of silver as a deposit, and two taels in three days. I agreed. You can take my sister away now."
"You're from Linjia Village, aren't you? Don't try to fool me, or I'll come looking for you in your village! Don't blame me for having a fist to crack then!"
He even waved his fist as he spoke!
The people of Dawu Village have become numb and decided that from now on, they will treat such a heartless person as if they were seeing dog shit.
"Oh, you agreed? I'm going back on my word," Song Anxin scoffed.
"What I want is a living, breathing daughter-in-law. How can you give my family a half-dead person like this? Unless you go and call a doctor to cure her."
When Zhang Daniu heard that he needed to hire a doctor, he refused. Hiring a doctor in the county to prescribe medicine would cost at least several hundred coins, and possibly as much as an ounce. This woman hadn't even gotten married yet, so how could he possibly pay back the money he received and then put it into his own pocket?
Song Anxin looked at the eldest brother of the Zhang family with icy eyes: "Fine, don't invite him then. Let's see if that widower Luo will be willing to spend three taels of silver to take away a corpse when he comes."
"Sister-in-law, let's go after a bountiful harvest!"
Zhang Daniu naturally knew that Luo the widower would definitely not agree, but he really couldn't bear to spend the money, so he quickly stopped Song Anxin and said with a smile, "Auntie, we can discuss it again. You name a price, and we can talk it over."
Song Anxin felt disgusted by the way Zhang Da Niu was haggling over the price of buying and selling his sister.
But for the sake of her next plan, she held back and said, "I can give you two taels of silver, but you have to agree to one condition."
Song Anxin didn't just offer two taels of silver casually; in this era, the maximum price for a person was two taels of silver.
Yes, Song Anxin wanted to buy Zhang Mei directly. The Zhang family couple were heartless and cruel. If she became in-laws with such people, her family would inevitably encounter many disgusting things. It would be better to sign a contract of servitude and let Zhang Mei break up with the Zhang family. This would be good for both her family and Zhang Mei.
Upon hearing that there was still two taels of silver to be had, Zhang Daniu grinned from ear to ear. Without asking any conditions, he quickly agreed, saying, "Alright, alright, but if Zhang Mei really dies, you can't come back to return the money."
Song Anxin glared at him and said, "Then let's get paper and pen to sign the contract of servitude."
The Zhang couple were somewhat surprised to hear that they had to sign a contract of servitude, but they didn't care. As long as they could get money, that was fine. Besides, Zhang Mei's fate was uncertain, so getting two taels of silver was already quite good.
The villagers were poor and few people could afford to read, let alone something as precious as paper and pen. In the end, they asked the grandson of the village elder, who had been studying for a few years, to write it. Song Anxin even gave him two coins for the paper and pen, and the child was very happy.
At the same time, Song Anxin was thinking that her four adopted sons were still illiterate, which would not do. She had to find an opportunity to let these children study.
The indenture was signed, and one tael of silver was given to me first. The remaining one tael of silver would be given to me in three days.
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